tempest
by Marahuyo
Summary: Does anyone really deserve a second chance? Do avengers get one? A quick art gallery stroll of love, forgiveness, and historical paintings. "Please don't do this again, Sasuke-kun. It hurts too much, because I love you too much." / SasuSaku one-shot. / Standard disclaimer applied.


Prompt/s: art, Picasso's personal life

Word count: 1038

 _For my bestfriend slash unicorn slash mermaid,_ Jona.

 **-o-**

* * *

 _ **TEMPEST**_

(tĕm′pĭst)

/ noun

/ a violent commotion, disturbance, or tumult.

 **-o-**

* * *

She lost a patient last week.

Sasuke stared at the ceiling, his thoughts wandering back to his pink-haired teammate. He could recall that day, when he found her in the Konoha Hospital's supply closet, a bottle of sake in hand and tear-stained cheeks, staring into oblivion.

 _He was only twelve_ , she said. The kid was out on his first C-ranked mission, and the enemy threw a kunai and struck his heart. There was nothing she could have done.

 _If only I was better_ , she said.

Sasuke really didn't know how to comfort, never been the receiving end of it himself. And so he sat next to her in the stuffy closet, knees touching hers. They stayed there for who knows how long, until the Sharingan-wielder finally decided that Sakura wasn't going anywhere by herself, and proceeded to carry her bridal-style to her apartment.

That was a week ago, and the medic-nin still hasn't moved on.

He faintly heard a month ago of an upcoming art event, of sorts. He remembered that they were arriving in the village today, and Sasuke knew that Sakura just _loved_ art, almost as much as his so-called replacement, Sai. Deciding that today his mission would be to cheer his usually eccentric teammate up, he climbed out of bed and prepared for the day.

 **-o-**

Sasuke welcomed himself inside Sakura's apartment, having been there countless times, sometimes by himself or with Naruto and occasionally, Kakashi and Sai. Ever since his return, he noticed that the kunoichi's feelings for him had died down. Whether it was a good or bad thing, he did not ponder and instead they had grown a rather comfortable and close relationship, nothing short of a friendship but nothing more, either. He was content, he supposed, for he wasn't completely alone and was in fact rather forgiven and cared for, despite being a traitor and almost killing Sakura herself and their blonde teammate.

Leaving his shoes, he quickly spotted an unmoving pink-haired body on the floor.

"Oi."

Getting no response, he nudged her calf with his foot.

"Mmmm."

"Sakura."

"Mmmghrojekoeh." Translation: Go the hell away.

"Sakura, get up."

"Donwantu."

"Hn. We're going somewhere."

The kunoichi turned her head. "Leave me alone, Sasuke-kun."

"You can't wallow in self-pity forever, Sakura. Now get dressed, we're paying a visit to an art gallery."

Now _that_ piqued her interest.

She slowly got up from the wooden floor and squinted at him. "Okay then…" The roseate was surprisingly compliant and proceeded to prepare herself for today's trip.

 **-o-**

The pair finally arrived, amazed at the crowd of people already milling about the gallery. It was still morning and the sun was bright outside, but already the loggia was busy.

They strolled slowly, taking up each masterpiece the place had to offer. Everything was beautiful and unique and wonderful and magical, and each had a story to tell. They stumbled upon an empty corridor, and one painting managed to catch both their attention.

The image featured a young woman with long golden strands, pale arms placed above a jade table, head on top of her porcelain limbs. She seemed rather… melancholic.

"Wow."

"…yeah."

Sakura knew a bit about art, engrossed herself in knowledge ever since she could read. The roseate was deeply fascinated by art history back then too, thus her inward excitement when this art gallery paid their village a visit. She'd studied about this painting before, and hadn't needed to scan for its information. "Her name was Marie-Thérèse Walter."

Sasuke glanced at her from the corner of his eye, but nonetheless stayed quiet.

"She was seventeen when Picasso fell in love with her. Picasso was already married, and thirty years her senior, so they kept their affair a secret. But he documented his passion by hiding her initials in some of his paintings."

The medic-nin cast a sad smile.

"Of course, Picasso wasn't completely ready to settle down, and he left Marie-Thérèse for Dora Maar, just like he left his wife Olga for Marie-Thérèse."

The kunoichi released a deep sigh. "But Marie-Thérèse never stopped loving Picasso, and she hung herself after his death." She looked down and let out a sniffle.

Sasuke stiffly turned to look at her, a frown on his handsome face. "Sakura…"

She forced a smile and faced her teammate, "I'm fine, Sasuke-kun. The story was tragic, is all. Sorry for letting it affect me. Anyways, are you hungry?" She glanced at her watch. "It's already past noon, let's go grab lunch, ne?" Sakura turned towards the exit, not two steps taken when long pallid fingers wrapped around her small wrist. She was about to ask what's wrong when all of a sudden, moist warm lips planted themselves onto hers.

Sasuke kissed her, long and hard, coaxed open her mouth with his tongue. The pinkette gasped, unknowingly giving him entrance and then she just felt. She closed her eyes and melted against him, hands gripping onto the Uchiha's denim shirt.

When they both pulled away for breath, Sakura expressed her shock and confusion.

 _Why?_ She voiced it out.

"I…"

"Why, Sasuke-kun? Why _now_? I was in love with you, okay? And you didn't love me back. Now I'm ready to move on, and it's like you're gonna build me up all over again! Well you know what, Sasuke-kun? …I'm done." Tears brimming, Sakura huffed and was about to leave when a low voice called out, "Sakura…"

She stopped her tracks, but didn't look back.

"Sakura, look at me."

Silence. She didn't move.

She heard footsteps, and Sasuke stood in front of her. Close.

"I—I wanted to be friends again, Sasuke-kun. I wanted to trust you again. I wanted you to open up to us, the same way we've been so willing to open up to you. I—I trusted you."

He grabbed her chin, forcing the roseate to look at him.

"Do not trust people like me. I will take you to museums, and parks, and monuments, and kiss you in every beautiful place, so that you can never go back to them without tasting me like blood in your mouth. I will destroy you in the most beautiful way possible. And when I leave you will finally understand, why storms are named after people."

 **-o-**

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 _ **A/N:** Soooo guys, how was it? Let me know what you think in a review! :)_

 _. . . unicorn-senpai_


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